Eligible for rehire - legal question?

caliotter3 · Nov 4, 2010

Your friend should take the time to see an employment attorney.

elkpark · Nov 4, 2010

In my state, at least, former employers are free to say anything (as much as) they want to about former employees as long as the information is true (and there is specific legal protection for employers in the state law as long as they weren't lying or being malicious about what they disclose). Many (most?) employers choose to only disclose hire/separation dates and eligibility (or not) for rehire, but there's nothing legal in my state that prevents them from giving out more information (and I would guess that my state is probably not the only state where that's the case).

Usually, the question we get here is are former employers legally allowed to disclose anything more than hire and separation dates and whether someone is eligible for rehire -- I don't think I've ever seen anyone question whether it might be illegal to ask or disclose the "rehire" status. AFAIK, that's a pretty standard thing everywhere.

kesr · Nov 4, 2010

I would be more concerned about WHY they labeled her ineligible for rehire. For 2 managers (I'm assuming consecutively) to do that, something needs looking at.

snuggles49 · Nov 4, 2010

In my facility we have employees that have left us with the knowledge that they will ineligible for rehire and this will be noted in their employee file. The only reasons for ineligibility for rehire that I am aware of is related to disciplinary problems which can be many reasons. Two that I am aware of were disciplinary for fraud and attendance issues. In both instances the employee was offered resignation instead of termination and was told they would not be elgible for rehire. When HR is doing referencing they will only give start date end date and will answer if ask is the person elgible for rehire and this is a simple yes or no. Nothing else is disclosed. In elgible for rehire means all depts in the facility not .Your friend should contact HR and ask why they are ineligble. Our managers fill out an exit interview indicating why the employee is not eligible for rehire

CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN · Nov 4, 2010

So, if it is illegal, how do you go about screening applicants? You can't ask employers anything except the dates they worked, you call there references and they will give you a good review...you hire them and then you find out they are poor workers, late, bad attitudes etc. We are having this problem in our LTC.

potomacpedsRN · Nov 4, 2010

A facility that I previously worked at did this to a large number of employees when they started. They forced them to resign, or be terminated because of personal conflicts (really they just didn't like them), claimed it was due to other reasons that they could not back with evidence and then filed them all as ineligible for rehire while telling the employees that they could work there again. The facility had a union, and the nurses weren't backed legally by the union since they were still within their 1st year. This happened to about 7-10 of the 30 new orientees.

The union told these people that the HR can only disclose dates of hire, that they resigned, and that is ALL. For this facility they stated that the union can intervene and you can sue if they tell other employers more information than that. I am not sure if this is true of every facility but if the one your friend worked for has a union for nurses then that would be the people to talk to. Good luck.

tyvin, BSN, RN · Nov 4, 2010

A facility that I previously worked at did this to a large number of employees when they started. They forced them to resign, or be terminated because of personal conflicts (really they just didn't like them), claimed it was due to other reasons that they could not back with evidence and then filed them all as ineligible for rehire while telling the employees that they could work there again. The facility had a union, and the nurses weren't backed legally by the union since they were still within their 1st year. This happened to about 7-10 of the 30 new orientees.
The union told these people that the HR can only disclose dates of hire, that they resigned, and that is ALL. For this facility they stated that the union can intervene and you can sue if they tell other employers more information than that. I am not sure if this is true of every facility but if the one your friend worked for has a union for nurses then that would be the people to talk to. Good luck.

Do you know why the union wouldn't legally assist them because of being a first year member? In my union it doesn't matter how long you've been a member; they still back you with legal assistance. This is why I am curious concerning this.

As far as the matter of this post is concerned legally they can't disclose that they are ineligible for rehire "if" they voluntarily resigned. Seek legal counsel.

BabyLady, BSN, RN · Nov 4, 2010

Hi, I need some advice for a friend of mine. She has just found out from a nurse recruiter that her last two managers marked her as "ineligible for rehire". In both cases, she did not expect this at all.
The recruiter (of the same large hospital) indicated that this applied only to these managers' respective units and did not preclude her from consideration for other positions in the hospital; however, she hasn't been able to even get an interview.
My question: Can potential employers ask whether someone is eligible for rehire (I think, yes, but I'm not sure). Also, this being the case, have any of you been in this position and been able to get your former managers to change this status? If so, how?
Thank you very much for any advice or insight.
DeLana

I can tell you now that yes, they can ask, and yes an employer can answer that question.

It is a MYTH that they cannot.

However...most employers CHOOSE NOT TO DISCLOSE a former employee's rehire status due to potential liability.

That is why former employers choose to do "date and position only" disclosure unless the termination was something more serious, such as diverting meds, etc.

People sometimes get this confused with the fact that an employer cannot legally disclose the informatin...but that is a myth that has been going around for so long people think that it is true.

However, since this is YOU and not your friend posting the question: I can understand ONE manager getting an ego and putting her down for ineligible for rehire...anyone can have a personality conflict...but two managers? She needs to look at what she is doing wrong...b/c you only know what she tells you.

Career Columnist / Author · Sep 2, 2016

I agree with the above posters.

Many organizations no longer share if the past employee is eligible to re-hire or not. They aren't required to give that information, it can be for their internal use only. The concern is that they fear being held liable if someone does not get a job because they are "ineligible for rehire".

Some organizations merely give dates of employment and job title.